Search Privacy Violations, Breaches and Complaints
This database was last updated in December 2015 ago and should only be used as a historical snapshot. More recent data on breaches affecting 500 or more people is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Breach Portal.
Northwest Network (VISN 20)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on October 24, 2011. Also cited in 208 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000067958, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 20 Portland, OR
Issue:
Veteran A received a prescription refill in the mail with additional pharmacy information printed included in the envelope. On one page, Veteran B's information printed under Veteran A's information. At first glance it appears the text on the page is all part of the intended printout for the page. Veteran A (who received the document) called the Portland VAMC and spoke to a nurse to report the mistake on 10/17/11 then mailed it to that nurse. The document was received by the nurse and forwarded to the VA Pharmacy on 10/19/11 and an incident report entered on 10/24/11.A note included with the document indicates Veteran A sent a copy of the document to US Senator Ronald Wyden's office. Update: 10/25/11:Veteran B will be sent a letter offering credit protection services, as his name, SSN, date of birth, and medical information was disclosed.
Outcome:
The printing error was able to be recreated. The occurrence of this error is expected to be rare because it requires to two print jobs to be sent to that printer from two separate users simultaneously. The staff sending the letters will be printing their copies to a printer separate from the one which receives the print jobs from locations off-site until a technical solution for the problem is identified. The staff will be watching for any signs of related printed issues as well, now that this issue has been identified.